To provide coverage of news events (e.g., sporting events, natural disasters, political demonstrations, etc.), broadcast companies send reporters to remote locations where the events are happening. Audio and/or video data captured at the remote locations are transmitted back to TV broadcast/news stations for editing and/or broadcasting.
The broadcast industry uses various technologies for uploading audio and/or video data from remote locations back to TV broadcast/news stations. For example, a news crew may travel in an outside broadcasting (OB) vehicle, which may be equipped with a microwave transmitter for transmitting audio and/or video data to a TV broadcast/news station directly or via one or more relay stations. Alternatively, or additionally, the vehicle may be equipped with a satellite transmitter to transmit the audio and/or video data to the TV broadcast/news station via a communications satellite.
Aside from vehicle-based systems, the broadcast industry uses portable systems that may be carried by a reporter or technician (e.g., a backpack with communication equipment incorporated therein).
Some mobile systems divide traffic amongst multiple network connections (e.g., cellular and/or WiFi connections). Such a system aggregates available bandwidth from multiple communication channels and is sometimes referred to as a “bonded channel” system.